Through the Bible in One Year by Dr. Alan B. Stringfellow

1. The Book

This comprehensive study of the Book of Revelation is masterfully presented by the esteemed Dr. Alan B. Stringfellow, whose profound insights and dedication to biblical teaching have blessed countless readers through his acclaimed book, Through the Bible in One Year.

Our study of this, the last book of the Bible, shall be in two parts — two lessons. It is impossible to cover all of the teachings of the Revelation, therefore, we shall try to grasp the high points which

• God gave to Christ
• Then Christ sent by the angel
• Then the angel gave to servant John
• And finally John gave to the seven churches

This authenticates every word found in the book of Revelation. John, the Apostle, wrote the Revelation. He had already written four other New Testament books: The gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. In the gospel of John, he reached farther back into eternity than any other Bible writer (John 1:1–3). In Revelation he reaches farther into eternity future than any other writer (Revelation 21, 22). Man writes history — God writes prophecy. Revelation is prophecy from God. The importance of the book is in verse 3, and there we find three beatitudes of the book:

• “Blessed is he that readeth
• And they that hear the words of this prophecy
• And keep those things which are written therein.”

John wrote this prophecy from the Isle of Patmos

2. The Central Message

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1).

(The word apocalypse is compounded from a verb and a preposition: apo— means “away from,” kalupto means “to hide, to cover.” Apokalupsis, therefore, means “to unveil, to reveal.” The Revelation then reveals, unveils the coming triumph of Jesus Christ.) Before we give the structure of the book, it may help you to understand the Revelation by knowing some of the interpretations of the book. In verse 3 we read, “now the time is at hand.” However, if we group every theory and idea ever written about this book we can group them under four general headings.

They are briefly:

• The Preterist Interpretation - Preterist is from the Latin word praeter meaning “past.” So they are the group who look upon the Revelation as having already been fulfilled in the years and generations of the past.
• Historically Continuous Interpretation - These believe that the Revelation is a panorama of the history of the church from the days of John.
• The Spiritualizers — Idealists - These interpret the book as a symbol of the great struggle between good and evil. They do not accept the book as actual — only symbolic.
• The Futurist Interpretation - This is the group that believes that beginning at the fourth chapter of Revelation, an unveiling of the consummation of the age is described. Most of us who are called “evangelicals” believe this basic interpretation — that most of the things in the book are still to come to pass. Nothing in history can compare to the judgments depicted in this book.

Now you can decide which theory you might agree with — only after you have finished these two lessons, please.

So what does God mean when He says, “For the time is at hand?” He means that the return of our Lord is always imminent — always.

3. The Structure of the Book

• “Write the things which thou hast seen” — Chapter 1
• “And the things which are” — Chapters 2 and 3
• “And the things which shall be hereafter” — Chapters 4–22

4. “Write the Things Which Thou Hast Seen” — Chapter 1

In obedience to that command, John wrote the things which he had seen. He saw the glorified Lord, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. He had seen the seven golden candlesticks (lampstands) and in the midst of the seven candlesticks he saw One like unto the Son of God. John described the vision of the Living Lord: His garments, eyes, head, hair, feet, voice. John saw in the right hand of the Lord “seven stars” (verse 16). What were these “candlesticks” and “stars” (verse 16)? John tells us in verse 20, the seven stars are the “angels” — messengers actually pastors of the “seven churches.” “The seven candlesticks are the seven churches.”

5. “And the Things Which Are” — Chapters 2 and 3

• A. “The things which are” — are the seven churches. In Revelation 1:20: “the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.” He doesn’t refer to a riddle or an enigma. The message was clear that John was to write in a book what he saw and send that message to the seven churches which are in Asia. The seven churches represent all of God’s churches. The divine arithmetic in the Revelation is significant because the number “seven” means “fullness,” “complete” — the complete household of God. The seven churches represent all the churches of all ages. John lived in the same dispensation, same age that we live in today — the day of the church age.
• B. Christ speaks to the seven churches in a definite order. He follows a definite pattern as you will see as we study each of the seven churches. The pattern in each is:
• First Christ identifies Himself.
• Then He commends the church (all but Laodicea).
• Next He condemns the things that are wrong. (He had no condemnation for Smyrna and Philadelphia.)
• Then He warns the church.
• And finally He challenges the church.
• C. EPHESUS — “Unto the pastor of the church at Ephesus, write...” This was the church of the apostles. Note now the pattern of our Lord to Ephesus:
• He Identifies Himself: Revelation 2:1 — “Things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.”
• He Commends the Church: verses 2–3 — “I know thy works, thy labor, thy patience,” etc.
• He Condemns: verse 4 — “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
• He Warns: verses 5–6 — “Remember— repent or I will remove the candlestick —.”
• He Challenges: verse 7 — “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
• D. SMYRNA — “Unto the pastor of the church in Smyrna, write…” This was the church of persecution.
• He Identifies Himself: Revelation 2:8 — “These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is now alive.”
• He Commends: verses 9–10 — (read these verses). This was the church of the martyrs and persecution. There were ten distinct attempts by imperial rulers to crush the infant church. These are historical events from the days of Nero to the days of Diocletian.
• He Condemns: none.
• He Warns: verse 10 — “Fear none of these things…be thou faithful.”
• He Challenges: verse 10 — “I will give thee a crown of life.” (See James 1:12.)
• E. PERGAMOS — “Unto the pastor of the church at Pergamos, write...” This church was married to the state — a church of the world.
• He Identifies Himself: Revelation 2:12 — “These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges.”
• He Commends: verse 13 — “I know thy works— thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith.”
• He Condemns: verses 14–15, “But I have a few things against thee” (read these verses). They were practicing false doctrine.
• He Warns: verse 16, “Repent, or else—”
• He Challenges: verse 17, “To him that overcometh—”
• F. THYATIRA — “Unto the pastor of the church in Thyatira, write...” This church is the church under the government — a state church.
• He Identifies Himself: verse 18, “These things saith the Son of God.”
• He Commends: verse19, “I know thy works — love, service, faith, patience.”
• He Condemns: verses 20–23 — They were allowing the ministry of a false prophetess, Jezebel.
• He Warns: verses 24–25 — (Read the warning).
• He Challenges: verses 26–28, “And he that overcometh—”
• G. SARDIS — “Unto the pastor of the church at Sardis, write...” (Revelation3:1). This church period is the church of the Reformation:
• He Identifies Himself: Revelation 3:1 — “These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” Don’t forget the divine arithmetic. There are not seven different spirits of God; here in Revelation 3:1, Jesus says, “these things saith He that hath the seven Spirits (the fullness, complete, total spirit) of God.”
• He Commends: verse 4 — “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis — they are worthy.”
• He Condemns: verse 1 — “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”
• He Warns: verses 2–3 — “Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain — remember — repent.”
• He Challenges: verses 5–6 — “I will confess his name before My Father.” (Look up Luke 12:8–9.)
• H. PHILADELPHIA — “Unto the pastor of the church in Philadelphia, write ...” (verse 7). This church means “open door.” It represents the great missionary movement.
• He Identifies Himself: verse 7 — “These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no man shutteth.”
• He Commends: verse 8 — “Thou hast kept my Word and hast not denied my name.”
• He Condemns: He has no condemnation.
• He Warns: verse 11 — “Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast—.”
• He Challenges: verses 8–12 — “I have set before thee an open door — I will keep thee.”
• I. LAODICEA — “Unto the pastor of the church of the Laodiceans, write ...” (verse 14.) This church represents the church of the last days before the coming of Christ.
• He Identifies Himself: verse 14 — “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” This is a true description of our Lord in His own words.
• He Commends: Nothing good!
• He Condemns: verses 15–17 — “Thou art neither cold nor hot — because thou art lukewarm — I will spue thee out of my mouth. Thou sayest, I am rich, etc.”
• He Warns: verse 18 (read).
• He Challenges: verse 19 — “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (see Hebrews 12:5–8). Then a personal challenge at the close of the church age is given in verses 20–21 (write these verses).

“And the Things Which Shall Be Hereafter” — Chapters 4–22

• CHAPTER 4 — Here we come to the third part of the outline God gave to us — the things after these things. The Greek phrase is “meta tauta” meaning “after these things.” After what things? After the things of the churches. So John delineates from this point on the magnificent outline of God. You will notice in Revelation 4:1–2: “After this I looked and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.” John is raptured up to heaven, a harbinger of the rapture of the church at the end of the church age. When do you see the church again in the Revelation? It absolutely disappears from the earth. It disappears until you get to the the nineteenth chapter when the Lord comes with His saints. The reason it is not seen? The church is in heaven.
• What happens from the fourth chapter to the nineteenth chapter is the tribulation, the judgment of God upon the earth after the saints are taken away. That is the same thing that the angels said to Lot in Genesis 19:22: “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou become thither.” Judgment cannot fall until God’s children are taken out. Was it not that way in the days of Noah? As long as Noah was in the earth, judgment could not fall. God put him in an ark, and who shut the door? God shut the door. That was the judgment of God upon the people outside of the ark. The judgment could not fall until Noah was safe on the inside. It is the same way in this world, as it was in the days of Lot, as it was in the days of Noah. The judgment does not fall, it cannot fall until God’s children be taken out. But the very minute they were taken out, the judgment fell; Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire and brimstone. Here in the Revelation after the church is raptured, after it is taken out of the earth, immediately the judgment begins to fall. After the church age, after the church is raptured, chapters 4 through 19 tell us exactly what happens down here when the church is taken away. Now there are many theories and many ideas by many theologians and teachers. I am merely trying to present what is so naturally visible here in the Scriptures.
• The fourth chapter of Revelation is the beginning of this glorious opening from heaven. “The seven lamps…which are the seven spirits of God” in verse 5 does not mean that there are seven spirits; the word “seven” refers to the fullness, the completeness of the Spirit of God. That there were four beasts is the wrong translation; it should be four living ones — zoa, the root word of zoology meaning “living creatures.” These are the cherubim of the Old Testament. They represent all of the creation of God, north, south, east, and west. Then you have the twenty-four elders, representing the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New.
• CHAPTER 5 — We have here the vision of the little book sealed with seven seals, with only Christ, the Lamb of God able to open it. This opening of the seven seals is the beginning of the judgments of God.
• CHAPTER 6 — the six seals are opened. The first seal is the revelation of the man of sin — Revelation 6:2. You look at those four horsemen of the apocalypse. The white horse, the conqueror, is the first seal. The second seal is the red horse, war, and death. The third seal, the black horse, is famine. The fourth seal is the pale horse of death. The fifth seal is those that are slain, the martyrs. The sixth seal is the great judgment of God upon the earth when they cried for the rocks in the mountains to fall upon them..
• CHAPTER 7 is an interlude. The sixth chapter is that awesome judgment of the sixth seal. Then the seventh chapter is that interlude. When things are at their darkest, we have our greatest revival. So it will be in the great tribulation. The greatest revival the world has ever seen will be in the days of the great tribulation. One of the elders says, “Which are these arrayed in white robes and whence came they?” John answers him, “Sir, thou knowest.” The elder said to him, “These are they which came out from great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (verses 13–14). In that day, you are going to have a lot of people saved and a lot of people martyred.
• The seventh seal is the opening of the seven trumpets. You have those seven trumpets in chapters 8 and 9. The trumpet judgments are more severe than the seal judgments.
• CHAPTER 10 — You have the little book which you saw at the beginning. It says here, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel...the mystery of God shall be finished” (Revelation 10:7). Here in the tenth chapter it says that the little book is to be eaten and it will be in your mouth sweet; it will be in your stomach bitter. The Bible becomes great bitterness if there is judgment in it for any individual. It is sweet if the person is saved.
• CHAPTER 11 — This chapter gives to us the consummation of this age. Look at verse 15: “And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdom of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” The revelation is done. It seems to close at this point. In the book of Daniel, it is divided also into two parts, right in the middle. So it is with the Revelation. The Revelation comes to a close with the eleventh chapter. It splits right in the middle.
• CHAPTER 12 — God, through John, reveals some of the personalities and some of the epochs in that final judgment. We start over again. The Revelation seems to close and the mystery of God is finished in chapter 11. Now in chapter 12 we start over again. First in chapter 12 is the great wonder in heaven. The woman is Israel giving birth to the Christ child. Then a struggle between Israel and Satan. They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony. Read verses 1–7.
• CHAPTER 13 — The first part of it is the description of the beast rising out of the sea. That is the political leader — the man of sin — the Antichrist. The last part of chapter 13 is the beast that comes out of the earth. That is the false prophet — a religious false prophet. You have those three personalities in those two chapters. Chapter 12 is Israel giving birth to Christ; chapter 13 are the beasts who shall be the Antichrist known as the man of sin; and beginning at verse 11 you have the false prophet.
• CHAPTER 14 — This is an interlude. Here we see the same 144,000 (verse 1) that we saw in chapter 7. There in chapter 7 the 144,000 Jews were seen in their ministry upon the earth. Here in chapter 14 the 144,000 are seen on Mt. Zion (read verse 3).
• CHAPTER 15 — This is the introduction to chapter 16 and the pouring out of the vials of wrath upon the earth — all seven of them. Here you have a description of the final battle — look at verse 16, chapter 16: “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
• CHAPTER 17 — You have the revelation of the scarlet woman. In verses 3 through 5, “I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast….The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand…upon her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and abominations of the earth.” In the last part of the Revelation 17:8–18, you have a description of the head of the religions of the earth. There is so much here that could take lesson after lesson but this must remain an overview.
• CHAPTER 18 — We see here the judgment of God upon mercantile Babylon, the natural world, the financial world, the merchandizing world of materialism. Look at verse 12 and on down, describing those things in which Babylon traffics: silver, gold, linen, purple, scarlet, ivory, wood, brass, iron, marble, cinnamon, frankincense, wine, oil, flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and the souls of men. Isn’t that an amazing thing? That’s merchandizing Babylon, which also will be judged. It is a world that know not God — the materialistic world.
• CHAPTER 19 — Here is the great battle of Armageddon. It is a war. In the nineteenth chapter we see Jesus and the church in heaven at the marriage supper of the Lamb. In verse 11 you see the actual second coming of Christ to the earth, “I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True...his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns…his vesture was dipped in blood; and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses.” I think the Lord is coming during the battle of Armageddon.
• CHAPTER 20 — We see here the millennium. The millennium means a thousand years. At the end of that millennium is the great white throne judgment. This is the resurrection of the ungodly who are judged as to whether one is saved or not. This white throne judgment is for the unsaved people only. All of us who are in Christ shall stand before the “judgment seat of Christ” to receive the things done in the flesh which are called rewards. The wicked shall stand at the white throne judgment to receive their reward of damnation. No Christian shall take part in this judgment.
• CHAPTERS 21–22 — Here is John’s vision of the new heaven and the new earth. I want to point out just one thing and then we must close this lesson. Notice Revelation 21:1: “and I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” What does he mean by that? Always in the Bible the sea was a monstrous thing. The sea separated John from his beloved disciples and his friends and people at Ephesus. To John, the sea was a symbol of loneliness, exile, and separation. He closes the Revelation with that beautiful benediction. Quoting the Lord: “He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20). His answering prayer is, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” That closes the apocalypse; it closes the Revelation, and it closes the Bible. There is so much that needs to be taught in reference to this blessed book. There are so many questions in your mind right now that I hope you will study the book of Revelation, not as a complicated work, but as a message from God the Father, to Christ, to the angel, to John, to us.